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I believe this is an inexpensive "protection plan" and worth it.
Also, anyone tried to order a Limited but without the fake wood? Thinking the low-end plastic actually looks better...
Oh yeah, the flares are a Southeast Toyota distributor level option from what I remember. We can't get them here in TX (Gulf States Toyota distributor).
To be fair however, it would be her primary vehicle and she rarely lets the kids mess with the windows. I enjoy driving with the windows down.
My only other complaint was the short seat bottoms on the front seats and the low back seat. We're currently driving 2 80's vintage Volvos which have very good seats. I have noticed that most of todays seat bottoms are generally shorter.
Skyreb (post 3449) does a good analysis on the wind noise problem.
However, I don't think just changing just the filter at 2000 miles makes sense. If you are going to go through the bother of changing the filter, why not spend another $5 or so and change the oil? The oil itself has more impurities suspended in it than the filter is holding, as well as by-products from gasoline combustion.
Towed 2000+ lb. camping trailer 400 miles round-trip with HL LTD 4x4 6 cyl. About 320 miles was on relatively level interstate with speed varying between 60 and 75; cross-winds were at times quite strong. 50 miles was on rolling two-lane pavement, with the remaining 30 miles on rough dirt road.
Comparisons are with my previous 1997 Ford Explorer. HL pulled the trailer with no problem. Smooth and absolutely no trailer "waggle." The Explorer was an adventure sometimes pulling the trailer in cross-winds. The HL seemed to handle the tonque weight of the trailer better than the Explorer, with almost no sag in the rear suspension. All four wheels felt firmly planted, and I had excellent steering control. Gas mileage averaged just over 19mpg true (almost 20 on the computer). Explorer would do well to get 14mpg in same situation. The only time I wished for the 6 cyl. Explorer was in negotiating a VERY steep hill and switchbacks on the dirt road. The Ex pulled strongly with very good slow speed torque. The HL was weak in first gear, and at one point I had some doubt whether it would make it. It finally did and all was well.
Overall, the ride in the HL was stable, confident, and extremely comfortable. It was a joy to drive and to pull the trailer. This experience confirmed that I made the right choice.
Also from the home page, you can click on "Get local finance rates" and it'll provide you with a personalized look at finance rates in your area.
Good luck.
Steve
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Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
masbama - Many of us have installed the Hidden Hitch model# 70777 round tube style hitch. While it is not exactly hidden, it doesn't look too bad. It is available from many places, should be about $150 shipped from: http://www.hitch-web.com or http://www.bageco.com. You will also need a wiring harness pigtail to make the connection from the converter to your trailer. It is available from: http://www.toyotaguys.com. Toyotaguys.com also sells the factory hitch.
I have the 4wd, 6 cyl, with towing packages...towed a 1200 lb trailer from Salt Lake City to LA and back via Joshua Tree NP. Milage ranged from 17 to 21 depending mainly on the road grades and wind speed and direction. The highest gas milage actually came with the highest tow speed of 70 mph. On level and gentle grades the transmission stayed in cruise (4th) and on cruise control. Cruise control will cause the trans to downshift to 3rd on any sustained grades once you slow down more than 2 or 3 mph. In some cases I took it out of cruise control to avoid this, but on any sustained moderate to steep grade you may as well lock out 4th gear to avoid having the trans shift back and forth.....I found that 70 mph is about as fast as I wanted to go in areas which required 3rd gear due to the rpms
Never downshifted to 2nd gear, but didnt really travel over any really hairy grades and switchbacks like you might experience in the Colorado Rockies for example. Trailer tracked perfectly, never any sense of strain, no change in engine temp over running without a trailer.
Only thing I noticed almost immediately was a racket from the back which sounded like the safety chains beating on the trailer, after about 100 miles of having my wife crawl around the back of the HL trying to isolate the noise I deduced it was coming from the license plate rattling agains the cheap holder that the dealer provided as a result of the the turbulence caused by the trailer. Temporary solution was to tape a packet of tissues under the license plate, ultimately I bought one of those nice "Highlander" license plate holders you can get from the toyota parts dealers.
I think thats all.....I am encouraged to hear that the experience is basically the same with a 2000 lb trailer. .
I am currently considering the purchase of a non-limited 4WD V6 Highlander with dealer installed Leather. According to the Dealer the leather and installation will be of equal quality to the factory.
Question: has anyone had experience with dealer installed leather? The dealer has quoted a price of $30,700 (V6 4WD with Preferred, Appearance and convenience Packages with Sun Roof, Tow,spoiler and dealer installed leather. Any thoughts on the price?
ejp
Mileage so far is 19.5mpg overall in 2500 miles, with no significant difference between premium and midgrade. Haven't done the regular leg of the experiment yet.
The rattles behind the glove box are well listed on this board and you'll be able to take it to the dealer and get the rattles eliminated.
The only thing I know sure is that it is from the sunroof area and happens when the car is warm from sitting in sun and you get in and drive with the air on. Try this experiment: After car is warm, drive with air on and vents directed toward sunroof. Popping happens fairly quick. Try this again with vents directed away form sunroof. Popping still happens but takes much longer. Try it again with sunroof shade closed. No noise because cool air never reaches sunroof.
That's my 2 cents worth!
www.katzkin.com
They will sell a kit to you directly if you want to do your own installation, or they sell through upholstery shops who do the installing.
Some people feel a quality aftermarket kit is better than what some manufacturers provide. You get your choice of dozens of colors, and can even get two-tone seats or options like heated seats.
If I remember right, a quote from a local upholstery shop for the kit and installation in a Highlander was around $1,400. Dealer cost is probably around $900. My guess is that the auto dealer farms the work out to the local upholstery shop, then adds on some profit.
Which BTW is a sucky radio/speaker combo. As soon as I can get few hundred dollars in spare cash I'll have to figure out if the speakers are the problem or the headunit should be replaced.
Regarding the radio / speakers, I couldn't agree more. It's not an audiophile system by any means and I could probably live with it if it wasn't so d*** boomy! I'm not likely to change out the head unit but might consider at least the speakers and maybe the amp. I'd like to know what you end up doing so please post it for all of us. Thanks.
PS-If anyone has changed the speakers for better sound-let us know!
Thanks for the insulation spray info. That's a good idea.
http://www.huskyliner.com/floormats.html
From what I read so far, this is a very reliable SUV. To find a flawless car is like searching for the Hope diamond. These problems are really minor. If you want to read some real problems, go over to the Jeep Grand Cherokee board: fuel pump causing the car to "stalled" while driving on the highway, constantly "turning" your rotor every 7-8K miles, transmission problem, window or wiper motor problems, and the list goes on and on and on.
The dealer rep indicates that the Limited will carry a slight price increase for 2002, but the V6 non-Limited will not.
We'll see!
Bought this crossover SUV or as I call it 'a station wagon on steroids' for $2500 under MSRP and dealer threw in trailer hitch for zilch and aftermarket gold emblem package (even the wheel hubs) for $200. The best a Chicagoland dealer would do was MSRP - $500. Rosemurgy International Auto Mall (Wausau WI) also sold me the Platinum 6year/100K extended warranty for $700(cost), so new car buyers will return for dealer servicing for auto repairs(if and when needed) after normal 3/36 warranty expires. To me the $700 provides less worry over potential future problems for those who keep vehicles more than three years.
Mileage to date (900 miles) in mostly Wisconsin country driving and trip back to Chicago is 23.4 average - over 5.7 MPG better than the Jeep's strictly highway mileage.
Question - what's up with the deep recessed window trim on both sides of front window? Not complaining, I just like to understand the engineering thought. My 2 cents on this - deep trim defects wind up over vehicle rather than allowing wind to create noise as it passes by large side mirrors!?! Anyone else have other thoughts? BTW, this deep trim also eliminates the window washer solution dirtying the side windows. Boy, do I like Japanese engineering (did they copy from Teutonic side of world??).
Insurance will be less than my 4-5 year old Jeep due to the insurance industry-rating symbol being less than the Jeep (Toyota = 14, Jeep = 18).
Thanks to all for the info prior to purchase!
I'm the proud new owner of a Highlander V6 2WD WITHOUT the Limited Package. I am interested in upgrading the system to sound a bit more like the "premium" system as in the Limited package. I would like to replace the speakers only (I think most of the electronics are the same w/the Premium) and was wondering if anyone knew the model no. of the JBL's Toyota uses or if there's a good, reasonably priced equivalent? Would like to find speakers that fit without any adapters or cutting.
Please advise.
Thanks in advance for your reply!!
PS: No problems so far w/the SUV, maybe because I have about 40 miles on the Odometer!!
DOES ANYONE have any suggestions, it seems like surely there must be box of those parts sitting somewhere at the plan in Japan that they could send, doesnt it? I will send this note to Toyota through their website, but those usually are forwarded to dealerships too, anyway, any help would obviously be appreciated....